Passage | RSS Feedhttp://gopassage.com
The Fastest Event Management on the PlanetSun, 21 Dec 2014 23:16:56 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.1.1Looking Ahead: Lollapaloozahttp://gopassage.com/2014/07/looking-ahead-lollapalooza/
http://gopassage.com/2014/07/looking-ahead-lollapalooza/#commentsFri, 25 Jul 2014 17:09:53 +0000http://gopassage.com/?p=6938Lollapalooza, one of Chicago’s premier summer music festivals is almost here! One of the most iconic music festivals in modern history, Lollapalooza brings thousands of enthusiasts to Grant Park every August. This year, Lollapalooza will take over downtown from August 1st to the 3rd. Let’s take some time now to look ahead at what this festival has to offer. The ...

]]>Lollapalooza, one of Chicago’s premier summer music festivals is almost here! One of the most iconic music festivals in modern history, Lollapalooza brings thousands of enthusiasts to Grant Park every August.

This year, Lollapalooza will take over downtown from August 1st to the 3rd. Let’s take some time now to look ahead at what this festival has to offer.

The Music

Lollapalooza is known for bringing together an eclectic batch of well known artists. This year is no exception. Headliners for 2014 include Eminem, Outkast, Lorde and Foster the People. Lollapalooza also has a number of smaller stages that feature lesser known artists and performers. This year, you’ll be able to see The Q Brothers, School of Rock All Stars and Bleachers on one of those smaller stages.

The Location

Is there a better place to spend the summer than Chicago? Absolutely not. Lollapalooza is hosted by Grant Park — in the heart of Downtown Chicago. Hotels, restaurants and other attractions are plentiful and easy to get to.

If you’re looking for some other entertainment while you’re in town for Lollapalooza, consider the following:

Shopping on the Magnificent Mile

Visiting Museum Campus for the Shedd Aquarium, Field Museum or Adler Planetarium

Catching the Red Line up to Wrigleyville for bars and baseball.

The Food

For many music festival promoters, food is an afterthought. Happily, that is not the case at Lollapalooza. Graham Elliot — the chef famous for being Gordon Ramsay and Joe Bastianich’s happy-go-lucky sidekick on MasterChef – was charged with making sure that everyone at Lollapalooza has the opportunity to eat and eat well.

Chow Town, Lollapalooza’s food court, is a veritable temple of Chicago festival food. Chicago-style pizza and hot dogs will be available, as will newer favorites like spicy mongolian beef baos and lobster corndogs.Headed to Lollapalooza? What are you most excited for?

]]>http://gopassage.com/2014/07/looking-ahead-lollapalooza/feed/0How to Stay Cool at a Music Festivalhttp://gopassage.com/2014/07/how-to-stay-cool-at-a-music-festival/
http://gopassage.com/2014/07/how-to-stay-cool-at-a-music-festival/#commentsThu, 24 Jul 2014 16:47:11 +0000http://gopassage.com/?p=6940It’s not a coincidence that most music festivals happen during the summer months. College kids are out of school and young professionals are feeling adventurous with vacation time to burn. While summer festivals are a quick success for most music festival promoters, there are a few special considerations brought on by warmer temperatures — most notably, keeping everyone at the ...

]]>It’s not a coincidence that most music festivals happen during the summer months. College kids are out of school and young professionals are feeling adventurous with vacation time to burn. While summer festivals are a quick success for most music festival promoters, there are a few special considerations brought on by warmer temperatures — most notably, keeping everyone at the festival cool and comfortable.

If you’re hosting a summer festival this year or next, consider the following cool-down options:

Hydration

First and foremost, you should have free water. Say it with me now: you should have free water. There is nothing more demoralizing than being asked to pay a premium for H2O, to be sure, but it can also create a dangerous situation for your music festival attendees.

Think of it this way: do you really trust a bunch of stubborn drunks to pay 5 dollars for water? Do you want to be around if they don’t?

A Calm and Shady Spot

Most festivals have already figured out that even the hardest partiers need a quiet place to unwind every now and again. Why not kill two birds with one stone and make the calm area a place to beat the heat, also? If your location has trees, make that the cooling zone. If not, throw up some canopies, string a few hammocks, purchase some industrial fans and go to town with the decorations.

Speaking from personal experience, the hammock area at Lollapalooza is the only way my pale Irish Catholic skin survived the festival, so I’ll always have a soft spot for people who offer shade.

Emergency Air Conditioning

If you were trying to curate an air conditioned experience, you wouldn’t be hosting an outdoor music festival, right? Still, music festival promoters should have some sort of backup plan in the (likely) event that someone overheats and needs a cool space immediately. Music festival promoters should look into air conditioned trailers or even partnering with local businesses to have a place for the truly overheated to chill out.

Beyond being uncomfortable, too much heat exposure can be dangerous for music festival goers (especially intoxicated ones). To avoid tragedy, make sure you’ve covered all bases with your music festival cool down strategies.

]]>http://gopassage.com/2014/07/how-to-stay-cool-at-a-music-festival/feed/03 Tactics to Step Up Your Festival Ticketinghttp://gopassage.com/2014/07/3-tactics-to-step-up-your-festival-ticketing/
http://gopassage.com/2014/07/3-tactics-to-step-up-your-festival-ticketing/#commentsWed, 23 Jul 2014 16:25:39 +0000http://gopassage.com/?p=6944Music festival promoters know that their number one responsibility is to sell tickets. Sure, there are other things to consider like booking the performers and making sure that there are enough accommodations at the location, but at the end of the day, festival ticketing is king. Full stop. Happily, there are more ways than ever to market your festival to prospective ...

]]>Music festival promoters know that their number one responsibility is to sell tickets. Sure, there are other things to consider like booking the performers and making sure that there are enough accommodations at the location, but at the end of the day, festival ticketing is king. Full stop.

Happily, there are more ways than ever to market your festival to prospective attendees! Let’s take a look at three innovative ways to attract festival goers:

Make A Viral Video

Think back to Summer 2012. What was the song of the summer? If you said “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen, you’re absolutely correct! But do you remember how we were introduced to “Call Me Maybe?” No? That’s okay, because I do.

Young Justin Bieber and the rest of his Disney Channel friends made a viral music video for it. Nobody remembers the video, but we all know the song.

Lesson: Make a cheesy video for your festival. No one will remember the video, but they’ll certainly remember the festival.

Get Twitter on It

Twitter is a great way to quickly and efficiently get the word out about your upcoming music festival. All you need to do is get in touch with a few key Twitfluencers* and ask them to tweet about your festival. As the Retweets skyrocket, so too will your ticket sales.

Have a Schtick

Okay, so it’s not new or exciting advice, but there is something to be said for having a schtick. Whether it’s the opportunity to win a free car or a free drink for the first 500 ticket holders, a good gift or contest can give people the extra motivation they need to buy tickets for your festival.

Selling tickets to your festival is the most important thing you can as a promoter. These three tips will help you gain the edge you need to sell out fast.

]]>http://gopassage.com/2014/07/3-tactics-to-step-up-your-festival-ticketing/feed/0To Camp or Not to Camp?http://gopassage.com/2014/07/to-camp-or-not-to-camp/
http://gopassage.com/2014/07/to-camp-or-not-to-camp/#commentsTue, 22 Jul 2014 16:08:48 +0000http://gopassage.com/?p=6942The way I see it, there are two types of music festivals — those where you camp and those where you don’t. Personally, as I am in indoor cat, I prefer festivals where you don’t camp. However, there are merits to both. Music festival promoters of the world! Take note of this handy pros-and-cons chart that I made for you: ...

]]>The way I see it, there are two types of music festivals — those where you camp and those where you don’t. Personally, as I am in indoor cat, I prefer festivals where you don’t camp. However, there are merits to both.

Music festival promoters of the world! Take note of this handy pros-and-cons chart that I made for you:

Camping

Not Camping

Gives you the rare opportunity to curate a 24 hour, multi-day experience for your guests.

Allows you to feature artists that you would not be able to feature if you were hosting a festival with fewer hours to fill.

Relieves many concerns about availability of area accommodations.

Could generate more cash for you as festival goers may rely on you to provide everything.

Requires a location with space for camping.

Requires adequate supervision and security for the duration of the festival.

Festivals without camping can be held in smaller and more urban spaces.

Requires less security and supervision than festivals with camping.

Requires you to work more closely with local law enforcement to ensure orderly exits each evening.

May leave you open to greater legal liability for your patrons.

Allows you to work with local hotels and restaurants to provide services and accommodations for your guests.

Allows you to market and sell different ticket packages.

What say you, music festival promoters? Do you prefer to host camping festivals or non-camping festivals?

]]>http://gopassage.com/2014/07/to-camp-or-not-to-camp/feed/0Booking Music Festivals: 4 Key Strategieshttp://gopassage.com/2014/07/booking-music-festivals/
http://gopassage.com/2014/07/booking-music-festivals/#commentsThu, 17 Jul 2014 16:12:03 +0000http://gopassage.com/?p=6932Why do people trek out — year after year after year — to the absolute middle-of-nowhere (Manchester) Tennessee? Furthermore, why would anyone want to spend several days broiling alive in the middle of the desert? The answer, my friends, is simple: there are some really excellent music festivals out there. If you build it, they will come. In the music ...

]]>Why do people trek out — year after year after year — to the absolute middle-of-nowhere (Manchester) Tennessee? Furthermore, why would anyone want to spend several days broiling alive in the middle of the desert?

The answer, my friends, is simple: there are some really excellent music festivals out there.

If you build it, they will come.

In the music festival industry, there is a (pithy) saying: “If you book it, they will come.” Throwback references to Field of Dreams aside, there is a lot of truth to the saying. All you really need to do to host a truly fantastic music festival is book the right artists that will bring the people out to your location — however remote it may be.

The Secrets of Booking Great Artists

Booking is not an art but a science. If you want to make sure that you are able to book the best talent for your upcoming music festival, all you need to do is follow these simple tips:

Decide your terms early.

You need to decide a few critical things early. Most notably, you will need to determine your festival budget. It is imperative that you figure out how much you are willing to pay the artists and reach out early to negotiate.

Get in touch and stay in touch.

Once you are in touch with great artists for your music festival, you are going to want to make sure that you stay in touch with them. Performers and artists are busy and you must find ways to stay at the forefront of their minds.

Consider the perks.

If this is your first music festival, you may not have the same budget or clout as other, larger festivals. For that reason, it is important for you to be creative with what you can offer them. Do you work with any sponsors that can offer the artist a special perk? Can you make up for a smaller fee with great lodging?

Be creative.

Too many music festival promoters fall into the trap of booking only artists of a certain type. It is important that you be creative with the types of artists that you are willing to book. If you want to guarantee a large and diverse crowd of festival-goers, you must book a diverse group of artists.

]]>http://gopassage.com/2014/07/booking-music-festivals/feed/04 Essential Music Festival Vendorshttp://gopassage.com/2014/07/essential-music-festival-vendors/
http://gopassage.com/2014/07/essential-music-festival-vendors/#commentsWed, 16 Jul 2014 16:11:44 +0000http://gopassage.com/?p=6929One of the most important parts of a music festival promoter’s job is to secure all the relevant vendors for the event. Although it may seem like an afterthought — after all, isn’t the most important part of planning a music festival finding the music? — but a festival without vendors is a very poor festival indeed. Whether you are ...

]]>One of the most important parts of a music festival promoter’s job is to secure all the relevant vendors for the event. Although it may seem like an afterthought — after all, isn’t the most important part of planning a music festival finding the music? — but a festival without vendors is a very poor festival indeed.

Whether you are an expert promoter or are just getting into the music festival game, here are 4 essential music festival vendors:

Beer.

Is a music festival without beer really a music festival at all? I think not. The fact of the matter is that most of your festival goer show up expecting to have a good time and that means that you need to make beer and liquor readily available to them.

Bear in mind that there’s more to selling beer than simply finding a guy with a keg; you need to be mindful of the laws and required permits in your location. On the flipside, selling alcohol at your festival means that you can (ostensibly) control the amount of alcohol that people can consume at your music festival.

Food.

Good music festival promoters don’t let festival goers drink without carbs. For that reason, you should focus on securing food vendors that can sell a variety of tasty snacks to accommodate all dietary preferences.

If beer and food are the most important vendors at your next music festival, then providing basic care items is not far behind. Even though people always plan to bring sunscreen, band-aids and other basics to the festival, someone always forgets.

Don’t leave money on the table — find a vendor who sells the basics.

Merch.

One of the cardinal rules of music festival attendance is that you must leave with at least one overpriced t-shirt. Plus, your performance artists will appreciate any opportunity you can give them to generate more revenue.

Securing the right vendors for your next music festival is one of the most important parts of the planning process. If you make sure that you have the right balance of these four basic vendors, you’ll be on your way to success!

]]>“Music Festival Promoter” is sort of a nebulous job title, non? I mean, I could start calling myself a “Music Festival Promoter” tomorrow, make myself business cards and set up shop in my basement. Then, at the next twelve cocktail parties that my husband drags me to, I shall tell everyone “Yea man, I’m like, a music festival promoter, you know?”

Certainly, I’ll be the life of the party.

The Secret Lives of Music Festival Promoters

Upon further investigation, it seems that my initial understanding of what a music festival promoter does — an understanding that I developed solely based on one experience with one very drunk Nashville bar patron — is completely false. It turns out that music festival promoters do a lot for the industry and that the right promoter can make or break your festival.

Here’s a quick rundown of everything that a music festival promoter does:

Find a place to hold the festival. This can be everything from an outdoor arena to someone’s decrepit farm.

Battle with the bureaucracy of modern society to secure all the necessary permits to host the festival. Want alcohol? You need a permit! Want to ensure that everyone who shows up to your festival isn’t arrested on the spot? You need a permit!

Find and book all the artists who will perform at the festival. You can call yourself a music festival but if your promoter doesn’t book any musical acts, you probably aren’t going to do so well.

Draw up agreements with all the vendors who will vend their wares at the music festival. You know how sometimes you just really need an elephant ear and a beer? Music festival promoters make it possible for you to consume your tasty snack.

Call all the applicable media outlets to ensure that people everywhere know about the festival.

Does my list seem incomplete to you? It should. The most important thing that a music festival promoter does is sell tickets.

Can’t have a music festival without festival-goers. Can’t have festival-goers unless you sell tickets.

Need help getting the ball rolling on your next adventure as a music festival promoter? Leave a comment or shoot us an email!e that you have the right balance of these four basic vendors, you’ll be on your way to success!

]]>http://gopassage.com/2014/07/music-festival-promoters/feed/0The Right Sound Teamhttp://gopassage.com/2014/06/the-right-sound-team/
http://gopassage.com/2014/06/the-right-sound-team/#commentsThu, 19 Jun 2014 17:24:50 +0000http://gopassage.com/?p=6893Last week I spoke to Paul Richter, CEO of Doctor Striker Events Squad. We talked again today week about building an emotional connection with the audience. I also spoke with Steve O’Connell, audio engineer and owner of Valverde Records, about how building the right sound team makes for a quality festival. Richter spoke last week to the challenges that rap and rock ...

Doctor Striker at a rock festival. The right sound team orchestrates his success from the shadow.

Last week I spoke to Paul Richter, CEO of Doctor Striker Events Squad. We talked again today week about building an emotional connection with the audience. I also spoke with Steve O’Connell, audio engineer and owner of Valverde Records, about how building the right sound team makes for a quality festival.

Richter spoke last week to the challenges that rap and rock organizers face in finding good sound mixers and technicians. Today, we talked about the importance of being able to hear the band’s frontman, and how that relates to the quality of your sound team.

Richter said:

“If you can’t understand the words, you’ll be disappointed. For me, hearing the words is a major part of my emotional connection to it. Finding a sound engineer who knows how to mix right– so you can enjoy the rock but still hear what’s being said– is incredibly hard. There’s no clear formula for doing that, so I think you have to look to indicator variables. I’d start by finding someone who doesn’t drink a job. This is an actual problem in live music. If something goes wrong and you’re drunk, you’re toast. Of course, you never know how good someone will be till they actually perform– that’s just a rule of life.”

Richter pointed me in the direction of O’Connell for insight into the process of finding the right sound team.

“The best thing to do is to look for working audio engineers in your town,” said O’Connell. “Call em up– a lot of engineers that I know, who own professional studios, moonlight as sound guys elsewhere. In the best of all possible worlds, you’ll show up days early to your site and test endlessly– which is why you truly want an engineer. If there’s a school in the area, that’ll be a great source of young talent. Ask a teacher for their recommendation. You want someone invested and interested in the festival because you’re, in essence, looking for a teammate. Logistics and setup is going to be a long process.”

Later this week, I’ll be speaking with members of Detroit’s electronic scene to help them share their stories.

]]>http://gopassage.com/2014/06/the-right-sound-team/feed/0How to Start a Music Festivalhttp://gopassage.com/2014/06/how-to-start-a-music-festival/
http://gopassage.com/2014/06/how-to-start-a-music-festival/#commentsWed, 11 Jun 2014 16:49:59 +0000http://gopassage.com/?p=6797This week, I asked Paul Richter, CEO of Doctor Striker Events Squad and stage manager for Oakland’s famous First Fridays, for advice on how to start a music festival for the first time. He told me: “There two ‘most important things’ for a first-time organizer. The first is the space, and the second are the acts. First, you need to create a feeling of ...

First, you need to create a feeling of a critical mass, so you can’t have a giant empty room or field; it’s better to have a small crowded one. If it’s crowded, people will feel a sense of intimacy.

Second, the bands actually have to be good. First-timers who are just figuring out how to start a music festival forget this. There are a lot of bad acts out there, and they’re hard to wade through.

You need a product that’s genuinely good.”

How to start a music festival: choose the right team

I asked Richter what kind of bands make the best festival acts and got a surprising answer.

“Rappers and rock bands struggle to get heard at festivals,” he said. “The mixers and technicians really struggle with projecting all these great artists– who depend on lyricism and wordplay– over a big area. On the other hand, EDM succeeds because it’s built to be as loud as possible. Same for pop.” He continued:

“I’d argue that the most overlooked aspect of the festival is the mixing. The music needs to be mixed right so people can hear the lyrics and feel the bass. The really need understand what’s happening. Of course, the more ‘live’ the music is, the harder it is for it to happen.

Festivals rarely put in the energy needed to match technical sophistication to the artists’ needs. That’s why it’s just so easy to hire DJs– EDM sounds the same wherever you play it.

Rock festivals tend to be more of a gamble as a consequence. For someone just figuring out how to start a music festival, figuring out what genre you’re going to play and finding experts to craft that sound is incredibly important.”

To explore how festivals should build their sound teams, we’ll speak with Richter again later this week, along with Steve O’Connell, sound engineer and owner of Valverde Records.